MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula urges Trump to limit “Peace Board” to Gaza in call covering governance, Venezuela and bilateral agenda

The exchange comes as Washington advances an international framework linked to Gaza’s postwar administration

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held a phone call on Monday with U.S. President Donald Trump, in a nearly hour-long conversation that blended global governance issues with the bilateral agenda. Brazilian media, citing Planalto Palace sources, reported that Lula argued Trump’s proposed “Peace Board” should be restricted exclusively to the future governance of the Gaza Strip and should also contemplate the creation of a Palestinian state—an approach those sources said Trump does not share.

The exchange comes as Washington advances an international framework linked to Gaza’s postwar administration. In a recent statement, the White House outlined an institutional design meant to oversee the work of a “National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG),” including an “Executive Board” and a “Board of Peace” intended to provide political backing and operational supervision.

In Brazil, the proposal has been handled cautiously. According to local reporting citing diplomatic sources, Brasília has not issued a formal response to Washington’s invitation to join, and officials at Itamaraty are said to be weighing the initiative with visible reluctance. Lula, who often frames foreign policy as a balance between principle and pragmatism, reportedly told Trump the mechanism should not expand beyond Gaza and that any exit framework requires a political horizon that addresses the Palestinian question.

The leaders also discussed Venezuela following Nicolás Maduro’s overthrow by U.S. forces earlier this month, according to the same accounts carried by Brazilian outlets. Lula, those reports said, stressed the need to preserve peace and stability in South America and to respect the sovereignty of neighboring countries—consistent with his public defense of multilateral norms. The issue carries regional weight as Brazil seeks to prevent the crisis from hardening into a bloc-driven confrontation.

Economic matters were also on the agenda. Brazil’s government, as cited by local media, said Trump “praised” the trajectory of bilateral relations and growth prospects for both economies. The call also touched on expanding cooperation against organized crime and money laundering, with positive signals on both sides, according to the reported readout.

Beyond operational details, the dispute is political: Lula is trying to defend a diplomatic tradition anchored in negotiation and multilateral forums, while Trump is promoting a more U.S.-driven, ad hoc architecture. Al Jazeera reported that the “Board of Peace” concept has drawn support from some countries while raising reservations across several European capitals, highlighting a wider debate about legitimacy, mandate and scope.

Brazil has not announced a final decision on the invitation. But the call underscored Lula’s red line: if the “Peace Board” moves forward, he wants it confined to Gaza and not repurposed into a broader geopolitical instrument.